Ohio History Journal

DANIEL F. RING

 

 

The Cleveland Public Library

and the WPA: A Study in

Creative Partnership

 

 

 

 

The dole is a "narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit .... I am not will-

ing that the vitality of our people be . . .sapped by the giving of cash."¹ In a large

way, this statement of President Franklin D. Roosevelt summarizes the philoso-

phy and emphasis of the New Deal, which was a desire to "substitute work for

relief."² Expressions of this philosophy were the proliferation of federal agencies

and the unprecedented intervention of the federal government into almost all

aspects of American life. Some people would contend that these New Deal agen-

cies resulted in waste and misuse of funds. One cannot deny these assertions,

but to adopt such a narrow view would ignore the solid contributions that these

bureaucracies made in the areas of employment, social rehabilitation, and work

projects of lasting value. Many of these projects were physical in nature: dams,

roads, harbors, and the like; yet some were truly creative in the intellectual and

aesthetic sense: art, music, theatre, and numerous bibliographic tools which pro-

vide services to this day. In any case, the inception and planning of these pro-

grams fostered the growth of a creative partnership between government and

local institutions. This article will discuss the origins, nature, and results of this

creative partnership as it affected the Cleveland Public Library by focusing on

the activities of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

 

Initial attempts at work-relief began with the Public Works Administration

(PWA), the Civil Works Administration (CWA), and the Federal Emergency

Relief Act (FERA). All three of these agencies affected the Cleveland Public Li-

brary, although in a minor way compared with the Works Progress Administra-

tion. CWA workers, for example, painted the walls and ceilings of ten branch

libraries³ and also helped to update library routines which had been sorely ne-

glected as a result of the financial crunch.⁴ Similarly, nineteen painters from the

 

 

 

 

1. Frank Leuchtenberg, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal (New York, 1963), 124.

2. Ibid.

3. "Building and Equipment Report," January 17, 1934, Cleveland Public Library Board of Trus-

tees, Cleveland Public Library. Hereafter cited as CPL Board of Trustees.

4. Cleveland Public Library, Board of Trustees, Annual Report, 1933, I, 77. Hereafter cited as

Annual Report.

 

 

Mr. Ring is a humanities reference librarian at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan; he has

an M.S. in history from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and an M.S. in library science from

the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

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Cleveland Public Library                                                         159

 

FERA were employed by the library on a part-time basis.⁵ The library also ac-

cepted an offer from the PWA for $67,500 to aid in financing the construction

of new library buildings.⁶ Yet by any measurement, the impact of these agencies

on the library must be gauged as being minimal. These projects, however, should

be seen as precursors of the more expansive WPA, and in that sense, their con-

tributions cannot be overlooked.

The WPA was established by executive order on May 6, 1935.⁷ As they affected

the library, WPA projects fell into two important categories: bibliographic serv-

ices and fine arts. Both of these fields were frequently referred to as "white col-

lar" work. There were several reasons behind the creation of these programs.

"White collar" workers such as musicians, artists, clerks, and professionals, like

anyone else, suffered from unemployment,⁸ and, rather than turn these people

into "unsatisfactory ditch diggers," it was thought better to use their capabilities

to enrich the cultural possessions of the community.⁹ Another impelling reason,

which can only be described as a social ethic, was that such work would encour-

age neatness, promptness, accuracy, and responsibility along with feelings of

self confidence to try again.10 It is evident that potent traces of the "Protestant

Ethic" of work and self reliance were intertwined with the necessity of relief in

the creation of these bureaus.

 

The WPA bibliographic projects were many and varied. Some of them were of

great significance in terms of scope and imagination. Others were of a routine

nature. Among the latter, one would include a necrology file from the years 1894

to 1935 of obituaries taken from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.11 This file was of re-

search importance because it was used by the federal government to prove that

tuberculosis was a social disease. Maintenance of stock was another large activity

and one which covered a multitude of services. WPA workers helped with the

physical improvement of books by checking on binding, mending, cleaning soiled

pages, replacing torn or missing pages. In the catalogs of the main and branch

libraries, workers were responsible for adding several thousand cards to the col-

lection.12 Librarians generally concluded that their departments were in very

good shape as a result of the WPA workers and held their accomplishments in

high esteem. Not unexpectedly, some wondered as to how the libraries got along

without their services before.¹³

The preparation of bibliographies, indexes, and abstracts was another service,

and from the standpoint of the patron, perhaps more important than those noted

above. While bibliographies were compiled in other departments, the most ex-

tensive ones were done in history, biography, and travel. This department was

also responsible for the translation of several Slavic and Hungarian language

books into English.¹⁴ In the Sociology Department, WPA workers experimented

 

 

 

5. "Employment Committee Report," May 15, 1935, p. 28, CPL Board of Trustees.

6. "Regular Meeting," October 16, 1935, p. 74, CPL Board of Trustees.

7. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Politics of Upheaval (Boston, 1960), 345.

8. WPA Writers' Project, "WPA Press Release No. 16," Cleveland Public Library. Hereafter cited

as "WPA Press Release."

9. Ibid., "Press Release No. 9."

10. "Project 1380," WPA Reports, Cleveland Public Library. Hereafter cited as WPA Reports.

11. "Main Library Division, General Reference," Annual Report, 1936, I1, 15.

12. "School Department," Annual Report, 1936, 1, 2; "Business and Information Division," Annual

Report, 1938, IV, 24; "Branch Department," Annual Report, 1936, VII, 5; "Rules and Administrative

Committee Report," April 21, 1937, WPA Reports; "WPA Press Release No. 19."

13. "School Department," Annual Report, 1936, IV, 2; "Classroom Division," Annual Report,

1936, IV, 10.

14. "Main Library Division, History, Biography and Travel," Annual Report, 1937, II.

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160                                                                     OHIO HISTORY

 

with a project which abstracted newspaper and magazine articles on job vacan-

cies and trends in various occupations. It was hoped that this service would be of

value to cooperating social agencies. The abstracts became so useful that the li-

brary received requests from New York City and other areas about the work be-

ing done.¹⁵ Similar activities occupied the time of other departments. The John

G. White Division had a project of indexing chess periodicals. But even more

extensive was the Cleveland Bibliography which consisted of eighty thousand

cards which indexed periodical information on Cleveland.¹⁶ Other instances of

these services were duplicated throughout the library.¹⁷

 

While these projects were important, both bibliographically and from the

standpoint of supplying employment, they were completely overshadowed by

The Annals of Cleveland, the Union Catalog, and the Historic Records Survey of

Cuyahoga County, all of which were sponsored by the Federal Writers Project.

The Annals of Cleveland was a multi-volume index of the local news and edi-

torials of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Leader, and the Herald from 1820 to

1935. Two reasons prompted this complex and intricate undertaking. It was hoped

that such an index would save newspaper files from destruction while permitting

their maximum use. Furthermore, such a project was seen as an invaluable tool

for research, reference, and social services.¹⁸ Top rated scholars undertook and

directed the Annals, among them Robert Binkley of Western Reserve University

and Arthur C. Cole, editor of the Mississippi Valley Historical Review.¹⁹ In ad-

dition to these prestigious names, the commission in charge sought to attract

"every scholar in the community who has . . . research interest." The Annals was

originally intended to be two hundred volumes, but it fell short of its goal by

fifty-nine volumes due to retrenchment by the federal government.²⁰ Aside from

the obvious advantage of employing six hundred sixty-five workers, the major-

ity of whom were abstractors,²1 the Annals remains today as a significant biblio-

graphic aid and research tool.

A second project which supplemented the Annals was the Cuyahoga County

Archives Survey. Although originally sponsored by the library, its responsibility

was later assumed by the County Recorder, with Robert Binkley as the technical

advisor. The tasks of the archives survey were to determine the location of pub-

lic records, semi-public records, church records, and other historical manuscripts,

many of which were stored in a haphazard manner, deteriorating from heat and

dampness. In addition to its obvious historical value of "disclosing the missing

links" and of determining the present condition of documents, it was believed

that the survey would be of great practical use for lawyers engaged in legal re-

 

 

 

15. "Main Library Division," Annual Report, 1938, 1, 14-15; Typescript of Radio Broadcast,

W.G.A.R., June 22, 1939, WPA General, Cleveland Public Library (hereafter cited as WPA General).

The Stevenson room undertook a similar project of writing vocational pamphlets for use in the schools;

see "Stevenson Room," Annual Report, 1937, IV, 16.

16. Typescript of Radio Broadcast, WPA General.

17. "John G. White Collection," Annual Report, 1936, III, 14. Also see "Project Proposals," July

23, 1936, Current Projects, Cleveland Public Library; "Foreign Literature Division," Annual Report,

1939.

18. "Project for the Preparation of a Calendar of the Newspapers of Cleveland to be called 'The

Annals of Cleveland, 1820-1935'," and unidentified clipping, WPA Newspaper File, Cleveland Public

Library (hereafter cited as WPA Newspaper File); "Main Library," Annual Report, 1938, I, 14.

19. Robert A. North to Linda Eastman, October 11, 1937, WPA Newspaper File. While the Cleve-

land Public Library also sponsored the Annals, the evidence seems to indicate that Binkley and Coles

had the preponderant roles.

20. City Record, December 9, 1936, WPA Newspaper File.

21. "Project for the Preparation of the Calendar of Newspapers of Cleveland...," WPA Newspaper

File.

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Cleveland Public Library                                                    161

 

search pursuant to the modernization of the county government and the writing

of the new county charter.²² The bulk of the manpower was supplied by the

"white collar" unemployed: attorneys, auditors, clerks, and typists.²³

The success of the survey can be judged from a compliment by Luther Evans,

the national supervisor of the Historical Records Survey (HRS). Evans noted

that the HRS had profited greatly by the lessons that it was able to derive from

the "pioneering experience" of the Cuyahoga County Archives Survey.²⁴ Simi-

larly, the Guide to Cuyahoga County Archives, itself a monument of organization

and detailed research, was the first completed guide to the records of a large

county and was used as a model for guides in other parts of the country.²⁵

The third part of this triad of bibliographic services was a Union Catalog of

the card holdings of several libraries in the county. This project was made pos-

sible by an allotment from the WPA, and it was estimated that it would cost

$100,370. The plan entailed the copying and filing of some two million cards, and

forty thousand guide cards that would cover the holdings of the cooperating li-

braries. Technically, the procedures consisted of photographing the cards on

sixteen millimeter film with a Recordak camera. It was expected that the photo-

graphing could be done at the rate of twelve thousand entries per day. From the

film, a typist would copy the entries on catalog cards. When completed, it was

intended that the Catalog would be located in the library of Western Reserve

University.²⁶

These bibliographic projects by no means exhaust the services which the library

provided to the community; they are only the most important ones. In addition

to engaging in undertakings of obvious research value, the library had other

projects which had all the makings of a social conscience and which indicated a

commitment to extending library services to the community as a whole and not

just to the select researcher. Among these one would include library services to

shut-ins, hospitals, and churches. The names and addresses of these people were

obtained by WPA workers from the various social and welfare agencies. Simi-

larly, the WPA made it possible to extend the work of other departments to more

schools and branches. Necessarily, the library and its insufficient staff would have

been unable to make these types of commitments without the help of the WPA.²⁷

Consequently, the WPA in conjunction with the library made notable con-

tributions in all areas of librarianship. Projects ranged from the mundane though

necessary tasks of compiling bibliographies and maintaining files and index

cards, to those which suggested imagination, creativity, and a concern for the

scholar.

 

The second major division of the "white collar" projects consisted of a wide

variety of fine arts programs which included opera, the theatre, symphony, band

music, and art. Like the WPA bibliographic work, the WPA Federal Music Proj-

 

 

 

 

22. "Cuyahoga County Archives Survey," Binkley File, Cleveland Public Library (hereafter cited

as Binkley File); Project Proposal, July 5, 1935, Binkley File; Mayo Fesler, Director of the Citizens

League of Cleveland, to Joseph Alexander, Administrator for District 6 of the WPA, July 20, 1936,

Binkley File.

23. "Cuyahoga County Archives Survey," Binkley File.

24. Luther Evans to Joseph Alexander, June 23, 1936, Binkley File. The Historical Records Survey

was a federal project operating independently of the Cuyahoga County Archives Survey.

25. "Cuyahoga County Archives Survey," Binkley File.

26. Herbert Hirshberg to Linda Eastman, April 23, 1936, Binkley File; "Works Progress Adminis-

tration, Project Proposal," WPA Newspaper File.

27. "WPA Project No. 1020," WPA General; "Main Library Division, Exhibits," Annual Report,

1936, II, 5.

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162                                                                      OHIO HISTORY

 

ect and the Art Project were motivated by a desire to replace the dole with em-

ployment²⁸ and to help unemployed musicians and artists regain skills that they

may have lost.²⁹ One can also observe a compelling social mission behind the

arts programs, namely, an expectation that music and art would raise the so-

phistication of the public and stimulate love and enthusiasm for music.³⁰ This

hope stands in stark contrast to the "go getter" rationale of the bibliographic

services which sought to instill good work habits. A final and perhaps most im-

portant comparison is that the library again had a direct relationship with the fine

arts programs in planning, sponsoring, and supportive help. The most obvious

contrast between the two major white collar projects is that some of the work

done by the artists and musicians did not directly benefit the Cleveland Public

Library in that it was not truly library related.

The programs of the WPA Federal Music Project were characterized by a wide

variety of activities which ranged from the preparation of music scores to live

performances. The library's involvement rested upon its willingness to act as the

sponsor and to provide its physical plant for the undertaking of a vast array of

technical exercises.

A great deal of time and effort was devoted to the copying of musical scores

and orchestral parts. Some of these scores were retained by the library for the

extension of its music services, but many were provided to the numerous WPA

orchestras and to the Cleveland Orchestra.³¹ That the work attained the highest

standards of excellence and musical knowledge is evidenced by the comments of

Rudolph Ringwall, assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, who found

the scores to be of high caliber and excellent workmanship.³² Musicians also

worked on a host of related activities such as supplying missing parts of scores³³

and indexing folk songs and Negro spirituals.³⁴ All totaled, thirty musicians

copied approximately 2703 sheets of music over a three year period.³⁵

A larger aspect of the music projects became the live performances by the

WPA bands and orchestra. They were wide in scope and selection, but "Amer-

ican" music remained the dominating theme. The philosophy behind the per-

formances can best be summarized as "something for everyone." WPA musicians

performed in different genre such as concert, dance and Negro bands, grand

opera, and symphony orchestra. Moreover, they performed at a variety of locales

including musicals at branch libraries and noon time musicals at factories in-

volved in national defense.³⁶ For the more sophisticated listener, there were

 

 

 

28. "Cahill Report," WPA Music Project, Cleveland Public Library (hereafter cited as WPA Music

Project). The Federal Music Project was discontinued in 1939, its successor being the Ohio Music

Project. "Report of the Proposed Music Program," WPA Music Project.

29. Ibid.

30. Ibid., 3-4; "Minutes of the Meeting of the WPA Music Project Advisory Council," November

13, 1940, WPA Music Project Advisory Council, Cleveland Public Library. Hereafter cited as WPA

Advisory.

31. "Fine Arts Division," Annual Report, 1935, II, 20; Linda Eastman to Marion Wilson, May 23,

1937, Current Projects, Cleveland Public Library. Hereafter cited as Current Projects.

32. Rudolph Ringwall to C. S. Metcalf, June 27, 1940, WPA Music Project. Metcalf, Secretary-

Treasurer of the Cleveland Public Library, was a member of the WPA Music Project Advisory Coun-

cil.

33. "WPA in Ohio," Press Release No. 19, WPA General.

34. "Report," April 21, 1937, Current Projects.

35. "WPA Project 2030," WPA General; Metcalf to J. P. Groewa, October 26, 1939, Federal Music

Project, 1939, Cleveland Public Library.

36. "Report on Federal Art Project," January 6, 1939, WPA Art Project, Cleveland Public Library

(hereafter cited as WPA Art Project); "Public Activity Program Advisory Committee Meeting," Feb-

ruary 21, 1941, WPA Library Project, Cleveland Public Library (hereafter cited as WPA Library

Project); "Minutes of the Meeting of the WPA Advisory Council," January 15, 1941, WPA Advisory.

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Cleveland Public Library                                                   163

 

operas which included Carmen, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Gondalier, and II Trova-

tore.³⁷ One would have to conclude that there was a sincere effort to bring music

to the people. It is also important to note that the fine arts division of the li-

brary assisted in the preparation of these operas.

One can gain some appreciation of the Federal Music Project's success within

the community by noting that over a six year period, various bands gave 16,080

performances to an estimated audience of 708,000 people.³⁸ The music project

was also credited for the sellout of the Sunday Pops Concert of the Cleveland Or-

chestra.³⁹ But even more important was the social significance of the various

concerts. In addition to employing musicians and "raising the cultural level of

the people," they served to further social contact, relieve mental anxieties, and

perhaps helped people to forget temporarily their economic plight. For these

reasons alone, the Federal Music Project was a valuable asset to the community.⁴⁰

 

The Federal Arts Project was the second division of what has broadly been de-

fined as the "fine arts projects" of the WPA. Compared with the work of the

musicians, the art programs were limited in scope, both in the number of people

employed and the amount of work produced. This was probably due to the fact

that there were far more unemployed musicians than artists. Moreover, the role

of the Cleveland Public Library was more confined. While the library did sponsor

some of the programs, typically its functions were limited to providing space for

the completion of the projects, or it held exhibitions to display what the artists

had crafted.

The concept of art was broadly interpreted and was not limited to the more

traditional genre such as paintings. For example, the library, in conjunction with

the Board of Education, co-sponsored a project to produce various ceramic figures

from the novels of Charles Dickens and Mark Twain and the plays of William

Shakespeare. Numerous other ceramic art works were frequently loaned to the li-

brary for exhibitions at the branches and main building.⁴1 Photography was an-

other art project co-sponsored by the library and the Board of Education. Pho-

tographers made multi-purpose pictures for a number of city agencies which in-

cluded a series of photos on traffic conditions for the Safety Department; photos

for the City Hospital of "unusual pathological conditions" which helped in the

study of disease; and photos for the Cleveland Public Library on special exhibits

and rare book displays.⁴² In many instances, the library served as a repository of

WPA arts. Some gifts, such as murals, were given in perpetuity. Often, however,

the library lent its physical plant for display purposes. Notable examples of this

were exhibits of etchings, water colors, lithographs, and book plates.⁴³ Numerous

window lettering and sign painting activities at both the main and branch li-

braries were other examples of the WPA art projects.⁴⁴

These various art projects, like the New Deal itself, were intensely pragmatic

and did not get bogged down in fine questions as to what constituted art. The

overriding concern was to provide jobs to people who had hitherto worked in

occupations that were perhaps only vaguely related to art as it is commonly un-

 

37. "Main Library, Fine Arts," Annual Report, 1937, II, 8.

38. "Public Activity Program Advisory Committee Meeting," March 21, 1941, WPA Library Proj-

ect.

39. "Cahill Report," 4, WPA Music Project.

40. Marion Wilson to Mildred Thrasher, September 30, 1940, WPA Music Project.

41. "Project Proposal," January 12, 1935, WPA Arts Project.

42. "Project Request," November 14, 1935, WPA Arts Project.

43. "Federal Art Project," December 30, 1936, and unidentified typescript, September 16, 1937,

WPA Arts Project.

44. "Main Library Division, Exhibitions," Annual Report, 1937, 11, n.p.

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164                                                              OHIO HISTORY

 

derstood. Yet such a policy was wise in that it benefited both the artists involved

and the Cleveland Public Library. Because of the depression, the library could

never have undertaken such services as photography and sign lettering. In most

instances, the work was done at one-half the cost of retail rates.⁴⁵ The artists

profited in that they received economic sustenance and the opportunity to prac-

tice their crafts. Such programs were practical as well as humane.

The demise of the WPA did not come quickly, but suffered rather from a

steady erosion of economic and political support almost from its inception. As

early as 1936, library director Linda Eastman made a plea to United States Sen-

ator Robert J. Bulkey for the retention of the "cultural projects" of the WPA

which were in danger of being discontinued.⁴⁶ Undoubtedly, a major reason for

the imperiled WPA was that the agency had political enemies in Congress. In-

deed, political opponents were able to create legislation which served to reduce

the efficiency of the WPA. An example of this was the Relief Act of 1939 which

stipulated that all persons who had been employed for eighteen months would

be dropped from the rolls for a period of thirty days resulting in a three to four

month lay off before reemployment. In Cleveland, this act affected one in every

six workers and restricted the WPA opera performances.⁴⁷

Yet, political opposition only partially explains the uncertain future of the WPA.

The most important reason for its ultimate dismemberment was the onset of the

Second World War, which caused the drafting of large numbers of men into the

armed services and also the mobilization of America's munition works. More

specifically, the war changed the entire character of the WPA. At the end of

1941, nearly one-third of the programs were devoted to defense work. "White

collar" projects such as music were allowed to exist only in so far as they served

the defense industry. A prime example of this was the performance of noon con-

certs at defense factories.

But one must consider that certain of Ohio's representatives, Senator Robert

Taft in particular, used the war emergency to stymie the continuance of the WPA.

In a letter to Clarence S. Metcalf, Taft noted that the reduction of WPA services

was justified in the light of the rearmament endeavor. However, he also noted that

it was not a function of the Federal Government to spend funds which would

be added to the national debt in order to support "the local activities of cities,

schools and library districts."⁴⁸ With the amount of political opposition that ex-

isted from 1935 to 1942, however, one may be impressed both with the fact the

WPA survived, and with the variety of ways it adapted to the needs of the com-

munity.

No one person, agency, or circumstance was responsible for the WPA's suc-

cess. Rather, it was a combination of many factors. The inauspicious setting of

the depression created a desperate situation in which the bold and imaginative

President Roosevelt provided leadership. The bureaus of the New Deal, such as

the WPA, gave impetus and direction to the operation of the various projects

throughout the country. Finally, the Cleveland Public Library provided the physi-

cal plant, the manpower, and the innovative leadership of Linda Eastman and

Clarence S. Metcalf. Through these combined talents, there arose a creative

partnership which made an incalculable effort to salvage human resources and

to create a cultural heritage for the community. The fruits of their labor survive

to this day.

 

45. "WPA in Ohio," Press Release No. 19, WPA General.

46. Eastman to Bulkley, April 14, 1936, WPA Writers' Project, Cleveland Public Library.

47. Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 21, 1939, clipping, WPA Library Project; Memorandum by

Vaughan Cahill, March 28, 1939, Federal Music Project, Cleveland Public Library.

48. Robert Taft to Metcalf, March 29, 1941, WPA General.

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